Minutes of the Campton-Thornton Fire Commission Meeting, 12-Sept.-2011

Commissioners present- Jim Demeritt, Lou Klotz, Kelly Bolger, Dick Giehl. Also present- Chief David Tobine    Excused, Niles Downing

Meeting Called to order at 1601 by Chairman Demeritt

Minutes of Aug. 8 2011 were read by Jim. Motion to approve by Kelly, 2’nd by Dick- Unanimously accepted.

Ambulance income for August

• Campton   $1462.70
• Thornton  $958.32
• Ellsworth  $100.88

Old Business:     Kelly had passed thoughts on expansion to Ann Marie and Selectmen who in turn did not like the ideas. They suggested the Chief might spend more time at the Blair Bridge facility. All Commissioners and the Chief felt this to be very impractical for numerous reasons- The Chief should be in Campton!  The Chief displayed a resurrected 18’X12’ proposal to create a privacy office area. We need to decide the next steps.

Chief noted pay Class/job descriptions will be done by next  month.

New Business: Two trucks need exhausts- Will wait until December time frame.   Engine 2 needs rear springs, Double frame showing rust, Estimate=  $400 – $500  per vehicle before winter.

FEMA grants are due Sept 23.  Could use  funds to upgrade electric/generator ($24,432) and alarm system ($19,588) (up to $100,000 grant would require 5% match.) All agreed to proceed.

Pagers need to change to narrow band. Chief Tobine is looking into possible grants.

Air packs will reach 15 year shelf life in two years @ $6,500 each. Again, Chief Tobine will look into possible grants.

Chief Tobine noted the meeting with the Selectmen regarding the Inter-Governmental Agreement will be in Campton at the Historical Society building on Oct 3, 2011. A plethora of discussions around a broad array of subjects then ensued with a common theme that the Chief and budgets report to the Commissioners. Lou agreed to attempt to summarize these thoughts to be passed on to the joint Selectmen for discussion at the Oct. 3 session.

Lou motioned to adjourn at 1708 hrs and Dick 2’nd.  All agreed and meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,
Lou Klotz

 

Campton-Thornton Fire Commission  Meeting Minutes   October 11, 2011

Meeting called to order by Chairman Jim Demeritt at 1605 hrs.

Present at meeting:  Fire Commissioners Jim Demeritt ,Niles Downing, Kelly Bolger ; Chief David Tobine, Deputy Chief Ian Halm, Rebecca Farnsworth

Minutes of the Sept. 12,2011 meeting were read and approved with corrections unanimously.

Old Business: The Pay and Job Description study is done. There will be a representative from the Local Government Center at the station on October 25 to review the study with the Commissioners.

Engines 2 and 4 will be scheduled to have their frames repaired and painted next week.

New Business:  Car 2 (old Tahoe) is having the old reflective stripe removed and the door bottoms that are starting to rust will be repaired for a cost of $300.00. No charge for the stripe removal by Finishing Touches.

The 2012 Fire Department Budget was worked on. The treasurer was in to see if she would be considered for a raise in the budget this year.  It has been a while.  She was advised to attend the meeting with the LGC on the 25’th to determine where her position fits in to the Job Description study.

Jim brought to the Board a request or inquiry from  a couple Selectmen regarding benefits of National accreditation.  Chief Tobine advised that he had been to the meeting that explained the process and that it takes several years to meet the requirements and a major commitment of personnel.

Chief Tobine advised the Commission that some form of recruitment and retention program needs to be started immediately as coverage for  ambulance call is waning as the personnel experiences burn-out from being on call all the time.

The Chief discussed the need for the Towns to set aside a percentage of the Ambulance income for the replacement of the ambulance. It is paid off this year and should be replaced a lot sooner than the proposed 10 years. There is an increase in the number of times a call comes in while the ambulance is unavailable due to another call. A back-up unit is needed for those instances and for when the ambulance is out of service for maintenance or repair.

Ambulance income from Sept. to Oct 10, 2011                     Campton=       $7299.55,                       Thornton=            $4782.47,   Ellsworth=            $503.42           Total                $12,585.44

A motion to adjourn was made by Kelly, Seconded by Niles, approved unanimously to adjourn at 1725 hrs.

Respectfully submitted,

Niles Downing

Campton Conservation Commission
Meeting Minutes
October 12, 2011; 7:30 pm
Members present: Jess Halm, Jane Kellogg, Jules Doner, Tammy Wooster

Before the meeting began Jules showed us a bookcase he brought which will house the CCC reference library. He will make some adjustments to the shelves at home.

1) September minutes:

Jess made a motion to approve the September meeting minutes. Jane seconded the motion and all were in favor.

2) Land Management:

a) PCP

i. Signs:
Melissa has completed half of the PCP land use policy sign lettering and we still hope to get the sign up before the ground freezes.

ii. Trail work:
On 9/22 Lea and Jess did some much needed trail clearing work and used some existing blow down to help better define the trails. Jess said that the trail network is useable but there could be some confusion about where to go in some spots and so trail markers could be helpful. Jane offered to paint some tree blazes, and Lea will do some further clearing with a brush cutter. Jess will ask Ian about a ground tool used to establish new trails.

iii. Other PCP work:
Jules will remove the trash can that sits inside the Elm tree fencing and we will mow the grass inside the fencing in the spring.

Jess will ask Butch if he can spare some ground flags to serve as a visual boundary line along the Kidney/PCP property interface. We will be in touch with the Kidneys when the flags are put in.
Jess will call Anita Lane and ask her to remove an old well housing structure which currently sits on town property.

b) BWNA:

i. Recent work day progress:
On 9/23 Jules and Jane moved the tree sections cut by DOT (post Irene) from Rt. 3 to the edge of the parking lot. They also dug up some very small Japanese knotweed plants near the south side of the driveway at the edge of Rte 3. Lastly, they walked to the second bridge to discuss the undercut bank issue. There is a large rotted tree down in the stream which needs to be moved so that it is parallel with the stream bed. Jane suggested cutting it down to a movable size and then rolling it into place along the eroded bank. Jane will ask Ron if he can help with the chainsawing, and Jules offered to help move the log. It was also noted that there is a spike on the first bridge sticking up which needs hammering in.

There is some confusion as to whether a large compromised maple tree along Rt. 3 poses a threat to the power lines. Jess will ask Ian to take a look at it. Jane will make a quick check on the Whitten property house lot progress.

ii. Japanese knotweed:
Jess recently sent a letter to the DOT requesting advice on Japanese knotweed control at BWNA. Jess brought along a letter of response from Sr. Environmental Manager Christine Perron which CCC members reviewed and discussed. Christine advised us that the eradication measure for well established patches is herbicide application, for which there are two methods. One option would be to cut the knotweed by hand in early summer, properly dispose of the cut stems, and then apply herbicide to the foliar regrowth at the end of the summer. The second option would be to inject the herbicide with a special tool directly into each knotweed stem, which eliminates the need to deal with viable cut stems. Stems that are too small to inject would still need to be sprayed. Either method will require a commitment of several years for follow up treatments.

All agreed that given the size of the large established knotweed patch, we would try and manage it rather than eradicate it for the time being. Since the large knotweed patch extends beyond the BWNA property and we would have to involve abutting landowners and hire a licensed herbicide applicator. At the very least we will try and stay on top cutting, digging and disposing of the smaller newer patches. One concern discussed was the possibility of the knotweed encroaching into the driveway area and creating a visual problem for those leaving BWNA. Jane wondered whether knotweed is shade intolerant which could prevent it from spreading into the grassy area beyond the wetland. Jess will follow up on this question with Christine and tell her of our plan. We will be revisiting this issue in the spring and keep it on the radar as a future major land management project.

3) Groundwater:

a. Lakes Region Planning Commission Meeting:

Jess attended this meeting on 9/26 and provided an overview of two topics discussed. The first topic detailed changes to the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act (CSPA) which now has the new name of “Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act”. The changes came about after a stakeholders group formed to propose a review of the CSPA. This group influenced the legislature to make changes which went through as House Bill 2. Major changes include less stringent notification requirements, and relaxing of both the tree point system and impervious surface area allowances. Jess expressed frustration that this important legislation that is supposed to protect shore lands has now been watered down and has no teeth.

The second topic of discussion at the meeting was due to OEP water protection budget cuts which created confusion around groundwater protection ordinances. Jess learned that towns can still go ahead with ordinances despite the budget cuts.

b. PRLAC Meeting;

Tammy attended the 9/27 PRLAC meeting which was dedicated as the Pemi River Corridor Management Plan meeting. Twelve people attended the meeting, most of whom were area town Planning Board members. Lakes Region Planning Commissioner Dave Jeffers presented the results of a survey which was circulated to Pemi River corridor residents. The purpose of the survey was to gather input relative to present and anticipated problems affecting the river. There were 171 respondents and this number was comparable to the last survey taken in 2001. Tammy reported that it was interesting to learn that one of the most important objectives identified was the protection of the aquifer and drinking water. She said that she shared the CCC’s story of attempting to reclassify Campton’s aquifer and others expressed support in making this a future action item. She also learned that PRLAC has a website in development. PRLAC will develop recommendations with a goal to publish a management plan by Dec. 2012. The take home message is to attend PRLAC meetings where the details of the plan will be worked out.

c. Educational Outreach recap:
All agreed that the groundwater outreach materials we developed are effective but we need a system for replenishing and reprinting them. There may be some money left in the budget for reprinting this year depending on NHACC conference attendance.

4) Warrant Article:

Last month the CCC sent a letter to the Select Board requesting a discussion about the “conservation fund expenditures made to qualified organizations” warrant article to be taken up in 2012. Specifically, we requested that the Board have a warrant article discussion among themselves and communicate any questions to us in writing. Our hope was to then be prepared to answer their questions at an October Select Board meeting and have an open discussion in preparation for a public hearing.

Jess reported that Ann Marie communicated to her that the Board was preoccupied with Irene/bridge issues and would not be currently discussing the issue but the CC could still attend the 10/17 meeting to discuss it then. All agreed that we will ask to reschedule and be placed on the 11/14 SB agenda. This would give the Board a month’s time to discuss the article and come up with questions for us so that we can be prepared and have a productive conversation. Jess will ask this of Ann Marie and request feedback by our 11/9 meeting.

5) 2011/2012 Budgeting:

This agenda item was tabled for the time being except for a brief discussion relative to the NHACC conference fee budget detailed below.

6) NHACC Registration:

Jess reported that she recently e-mailed Ann Marie to ask for CCC budget numbers so that we could plan for CCC member registration for the NHACC conference. She learned that we have $200 in the conference/education budget. The advanced NHACC member registration fee is $45. Tammy will attend and ask Melissa and Lea if they are interested. Jane and Jess will decide after Melissa and Lea respond. All agreed that it would be ideal to have two CC reps attend and the conference workshop schedule was briefly reviewed. The CCC offered to cover conference registration for a Select Board member to join us but Ann Marie said that none will be attending. Any remaining money in the education/conference budget will be spent on groundwater brochure reprints.

7) Sponsor-A-Highway Cleanup Date:

Two potential dates were chosen as cleanup days. It was decided to let Melissa choose the date since she is the person who lines up the bags and pickup dates with the DOT. Tammy will ask Melissa if she prefers 10/22 or 10/29 at 8am.

8) FYI:

Jane reported that we have received the annual PRLAC request for fees in the amount of $200. All agreed this was reasonable.

Tammy noticed that the town web site has Jane and Jules’ terms listed as expired. Tammy will follow up with Ann Marie to clarify all term dates. Jane recommended that a document be created with all CCC contact info and that it be kept in the CCC filing cabinet and updated as needed. Tammy will take care of this.

A brief discussion was had relative to Jess’s resignation after she has her baby in Dec. All agreed that a chairmanship conversation needs to be had with all CCC members present.

Mail opened included a mowing bill from Mike Rej, a Forestry Notification, and a letter from the NHACC requesting a conference attendee from each town cast a vote on changes to the Board of Director’s bylaws.

Meeting adjourned 9:24pm
Next meeting 11/9/2011 7pm
*(Note Time Change!!)

SELECTMEN’S MEETING MINUTES For OCTOBER 31, 2011

The Board of Selectmen met for their weekly meeting at 6:30 p. m. at the Campton Town Office. Present were, Selectmen, Charles Wheeler, Charles Cheney and Marsh Morgan. Selectman Keeney and Selectman Davis were not present due to conflicts in schedule. The Board signed the manifest and reviewed the bills. They signed 3 Building Permits,
1 Intent to Cut and 1 Employment Contract and 1 employee’s leave request.

Members of the public who were not on the agenda but attended this meeting were: Erika Sutherland, Sami Gilmore, and Lynn Sutherland.

At 6:45 p.m. Vice Chair Wheeler called the meeting to order and made a Motion to go into Non Public Session under RSA 91:A,ll© regarding a tax matter. The Motion was seconded by Selectman Morgan and with a roll call vote: Selectman Morgan – aye, Selectman Wheeler – aye, and Selectman Cheney – aye, the Board went into Non Public Session. At 6:50 p.m. the Board came out of Non Public Session.

Vice Chair Wheeler then called for approval of the Minutes and Non Public Minutes of the previous meeting. Selectman Morgan made a Motion to approve the Minutes and Non Public Minutes as written. The Motion was seconded by Selectman Wheeler, and the Minutes and Non Public Minutes as written were unanimously approved.

Ann Marie indicated that regarding the Non Public Minutes dated October 17, 2011 Town Clerk/Tax Collector pointed out a correction. Ann Marie distributed the revised Non Public Minutes to the Board. Vice Chair Wheeler then made a Motion to accept the revised Non Public Minutes dated October 17, 2011. The Motion was seconded by Selectman Morgan and the Non Public Minutes dated October 17, 2011 were unanimously approved as revised.

Vice Chair then called on Ann Marie to review correspondence. Ann Marie indicated that she had some good news and that was that Beebe River Village District has submitted the necessary documents to NH DRA so that the tax rate can be set.

Ann Marie indicated the bad news is that Grafton County Treasurer submitted their invoice for the Town’s portion of the County Tax for 2011 and it has increased $64,285.00 (an approximate increase of 12%).

Ann Marie indicated that Kevin McGuire, Transfer Station Manager, sent a note indicating that he is taking full responsibility for the closing of the “Mall” and was sorry for any misunderstandings. Kevin further explained that money is being lost each week and he did not have the manpower to police it. Ann Marie indicated that a vote would be taken on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, at the Thornton Town Office regarding the possible closure of the “Mall”.

Ann Marie indicated a letter was received from Concord Regional Solid Waste/Resource Recovery Cooperative (“The Cooperative”) encouraging membership to the “Single Stream Recycling Facility”. Ann Marie read to the Board the benefits of membership that were pointed out in the letter.

Time Warner Cable sent a letter indicating a fee increase and the increase will be effective December 1, 2011.

Ann Marie stated that the Snowmobile Club has submitted 2 Notifications of Trail Development to the NH DES and sent copies to our office.

Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid Association sent a 3rd quarter bulletin and Ann Marie showed the Board pictures (that were in the bulletin) taken at the Campton Dam during Storm Irene.

There being no further correspondence, Vice Chair Wheeler continued with Other Business- Selectmen’s Input. Chair Wheeler indicated that a meeting of the Cable Committee has been scheduled for November 7, 2011, at 5:30 p.m., at Owl’s Nest and all committee members have been notified and copies of the present draft contract of the Town of Thornton has been provided to each member.

Vice Chair Wheeler then proceeded to sign attendance sheets for two students who attended the meeting this evening in order to complete a high school project. Vice Chair Wheeler explained to the students that the Board was going to go into Non Public Session once again so the students could leave the meeting at this time because the Board meeting would be adjourned after the Non Public Session.

Vice Chair Wheeler then made a Motion to go into Non Public Session under RSA 91-A: 3,ll(a) regarding a personnel issue. The Motion was seconded by Selectman Morgan and with a roll call vote: Selectman Morgan – aye, Selectman Wheeler – aye, and Selectman Cheney – aye, the Board went into Non Public Session at 7:05 p.m. The Board came out of Non Public Session at 7:08 p.m. and the Non Public Minutes were sealed.

There being no further business, Vice Chair Wheeler declared the meeting adjourned at 7:08 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Eleanor M. Dewey,
Office Assistant to Ann Marie Foote, Town Administrator